Behind Amber Eyes
by snowfrog5152
Summary: All his life, Tigerkit had faced more tragedy than any cat before him. One parent abused him, one parent killed in battle, and neglect from his siblings were just some of the things he had to face. Why Tigerstar is the way he is today.
1. Chapter 1: Cursed since birth

Chapter One:

It was a beautiful night in the Thunderclan forest. The prey was fresh and bountiful, the weather was nice and warm, and so far, none of the other clans had attacked the Thunderclan camp for a long time. This was also a beautiful day in that the young queen Snowfur was about to give birth to a litter of kits. The camp was always full of laughter and care whenever a litter was born. Inside the nursery, Snowfur was lying on her side waiting for her kits to come out. The father, Shadetail was seated beside her. And the medicine cat, Acornstripe, was waiting to deliver the kits. Suddenly, Snowfur began to have contractions. Acornstripe got ready to deliver the kits.

"Alright Snowfur," he mewed. "One kitten is out." He gently placed the kitten beside its mother where it began to drink its mother's milk.

"Here comes another one," Shadetail said delightfully. Acornstripe gently picked up the cat and placed it beside its sibling, where it too began to drink its mother's milk.

"All right, I think there's one more coming," Snowfur mewed. Sure enough, the last kitten came out and nuzzled up to its mother. Acornstripe gave Snowfur and Shadetail each a lick of gratitude.

"Congratulations, you have three healthy kits. Two toms and a she cat."

Happily, Snowfur glanced at her three kits. "Our first litter Shadetail," she mewed gently. Shadetail purred loudly and nuzzled Snowfur's face.

Acornstripe bowed and stood up to leave. Suddenly, a shooting star flew over the nursery and burst into a green flame. Acornstripe shivered at the sign. Shaking slightly, Acornstripe turned to Snowfur and Shadetail with a heavy heart.

"That was a message from Starclan. It said that a great evil will come to the forest. And it will come in the form of a small kit."

Snowfur and Shadetail gasped. "Is it one of our kits?" Shadetail asked.

Acornstripe shrugged. "I do not know," he mewed. "But make sure to treat all of your cats with compassion. Or else it might be one of them."

Acornstripe bowed and left the nursery. He had only revealed half of what the sign was. What he did not reveal was that he knew it was going to be a kit from their litter and which kit it was going to be.


	2. Chapter 2: Naming Ceremony

Chapter Two:

"Tigerkit! Tigerkit! Wake up!"

Tigerkit opened his amber eyes to Snowfur standing over.

"Today is your naming ceremony. I trust you know what to do."

Tigerkit shook, his body trembling from head to toe. Snowfur was in what you would call her honeymoon stage. Since Tigerkit was bigger and bulkier than Mousekit and Grasskit, he was often clumsier than the two of them. When he was clumsy, Snowfur would sometimes swipe at him with her claws, occasionally making him bleed. Tigerkit never told anyone of this and planned to keep it that way. At the moment, however, Snowfur was being the sweet angel everyone believed her to be.

As Tigerkit rolled over on his side, he mewed in happiness. Today was the day he would finally be made into a warrior. He walked over to his siblings, Mousekit and Grasskit.

"Are you guys ready for the big day?" Tigerkit mewed excitedly.

"We finally get to eat real fresh kill; not our mother's milk."

"But I liked our mother's milk," Grasskit said, his green eyes on the verge of tears.

"Don't overexcite yourself Tigerkit," Mousekit said. "We probably won't even get to try fresh kill until we become warriors."

Tigerkit stared at his siblings in astonishment. It was hard to believe he was actually related to these two. Mousekit and Grasskit were both tiny and had green eyes. Tigerkit was muscularly built and had amber eyes. Though Mousekit had a similar shade of brown fur, Grasskit's fur was as white as fresh fallen snow.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the High Rock for a clan meeting."

"That's our cue to go to our naming ceremony," Tigerkit whispered. "Come on."

Lethargically, Mousekit and Grasskit got up. Together, the three of them walked toward the High Rock with Snowfur and Shadetail following them. While they walked, Tigerkit began to imagine the different obstacles he would face once he became a warrior. He could help fight for his clan and gather food for every mouth. He couldn't wait to get started.

As they approached the High Rock, Tigerkit glanced up in awe. The sun's rays shone on Bluestar, the Clan leader's fur making the young cat look even more beautiful than usual.

"This sun high, we gather to name three apprentices. Come forward, all of you."

Mousekit and Grasskit cautiously stepped forward while Tigerkit jumped to the front, shaking excitedly. Bluestar looked down on Mousekit.

"From this day forward, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be called Mousepaw."

Mousepaw sat up, excited, and glanced around to see who her mentor would be.

"Halftail," Bluestar said to a big dark brown tabby. "You will train Mousepaw. You are a strong and fast warrior. I hope you will pass these skills onto your new apprentice.

Halftail walked toward Mousepaw, his eyes twinkling, and bent to touch noses. After this exchange, Bluestar looked down on Grasskit.

"From this day forward, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be called Grasspaw."

Grasspaw shook slightly and his green eyes shown with worry. Bluestar called to a big white tom.

"Whitestorm, you will train Grasspaw. You are not only a skillful hunter, but a fierce fighter as well. I hope you will pass these traits onto your new apprentice."

Whitestorm walked toward Grasspaw.

"Welcome young Grasspaw," Whitestorm kindly mewed as he bent to touch noses with Grasspaw.

Grasspaw shook slightly before touching noses with his mentor. Finally, Bluestar looked down on Tigerkit.

"From this day forward until you have earned your warrior name, you will be called Tigerpaw."

Tigerpaw eagerly jumped up and twitched his ears. He wanted to run, jump, and scream at the same time, but he also wanted to make a good impression on Bluestar so he kept still. Bluestar signaled a cat to come forward. Craning his neck, Tigerpaw could see that his mentor was a young tortoiseshell colored cat with a ginger tail.

"Redtail," Bluestar said. "Smallear taught you well. I hope you will pass these skills on to your new apprentice."

Tigerpaw looked up excitedly as Redtail came over. Redtail looked just as excited as he came over.

"You're my first apprentice," he said as he bent to touch noses with Tigerpaw.

Tigerpaw smiled at his new mentor. Bluestar faced the cats of Thunderclan.

"The meeting is over," she said.

As this was said, cats began walking away from the High Rock except for Tigerpaw and Redtail.

"Our first training day will begin tomorrow," Redtail mewed.

Tigerpaw nodded and the two went their separate ways.


	3. Chapter 3: Meet the Apprentices

Chapter Three:

"Hey Tigerpaw!"

"Howdy Tigerpaw!"

"What's up Tigerpaw?"

Tigerpaw glanced around the clearing, his heart burning with pride. After waiting many moons, he was now an apprentice. The first thing to do, however, was meet the other apprentices.

"Follow me," he told Mousepaw and Grasspaw. Reluctantly, the two smaller cats trudged after their brother. Rolling his eyes, Tigerpaw stopped and glanced at them. "Guys, we're apprentices now. That means we can finally explore the forest. Aren't you even a little bit excited?"

Grasspaw shook his head. "Not one bit."

"What about you Mousepaw? Feeling anything?"

Mousepaw shrugged. "I don't know, its only our first hour, but we'll come with you to see where we are sleeping."

Tigerpaw started up and began walking again toward the apprentice den. Peeking his head in there, he could see 4 other apprentices. One was a golden tom with thick lion like fur, another was a black and gold stripped she cat, the third apprentice was a gray and brown tom, and the fourth one was a beautiful she cat with orange and white stripped fur and(she opened her eyes for a second)green eyes.

"Good night guys," Tigerpaw said as he stretched out in the den.

The next day as soon as the sun rose, Bluestar came to greet them. "Your mentors will be here soon to tell you what to do." With that, Bluestar turned and walked back to her den.

Excited, Tigerpaw jumped up and looked around for the new apprentices. He could see the orange and white stripped she cat playing outside the den with the golden tom. The other two apprentices, however, were not in sight.

"You must be the new apprentices," the she cat said, her green eyes sparkling. "I'm Waterpaw and this tom over here is Lionpaw." Tigerpaw smiled and introduced himself and his siblings.

"How long have you guys been apprentices?" Grasspaw asked.

"Two moons," said Lionpaw getting up on his feet. "The other two have been apprentices for about three months. They think they own the apprentice den because of this factor."

Grasspaw shivered and drew closer to Mousepaw. Suddenly, the cats heard a yelp of victory. As they turned to see what it was, the two other apprentices jumped down from the top of the den in front of them.

"So," the gray and brown tom mewed. "We finally meet the new apprentices."

The black and gold she cat turned her cold eyes onto the new apprentices and examined them closely. "An easy lot Maplepaw," the black and gold she cat said to the gray and brown one.

Maplepaw turned his eyes onto the apprentices. "While we are here, let's get something straight. Lightpaw and I are the oldest. Therefore, we run this joint around here so you better listen to whatever we say." With that, Maplepaw and Lightpaw strutted off.

"Don't listen to them," Waterpaw said. "Lightpaw and Maplepaw are all talk and no action."

Just then, Redtail, Whitestorm, and Halftail came up to the apprentice den. "Come on guys," Halftail mewed. "Its time to begin your training."

With a sigh, Grasspaw, Mousepaw, and Tigerpaw got up and followed their mentors.


	4. Chapter 4: Training and Sparks

A/N: Sorry about the long wait. Those of you who have already read this story, I suggest you go back and reread Chapter Two and Three. I corrected one of my mistakes and I'd like to introduce you to two new cats: Maplepaw and Lightpaw. Also, the fact that Redtail is NOT the deputy anymore. Ok, now that that's out of the way, enjoy.

Chapter Four:

"Yay!" Tigerpaw said. "What are we going to do first Redtail?"

Redtail smiled. "I'm just as excited as you are, but let's start off with teaching you some hunting techniques. Then tomorrow, we will work on some fighting techniques. Then the day after, we will work on some defense maneuvers. We will practice every day and then after half a moon, I will test you on what we have learned. Do you understand?"

Tigerpaw nodded.

"Then let's get started."

Redtail stalked toward Sunningrocks, his ginger tail sticking up in the air. Tigerpaw slowly followed. Once they got to Sunningrocks, Redtail stopped. "Now tell what you can smell."

Tigerpaw sniffed the air. He could smell rabbit, vole, and mouse. "Prey?"

Redtail nodded. "Anything else?"

Tigerpaw sniffed again. "A fox came by."

"Does it smell fresh to you?"

Tigerpaw sniffed again. "No, at least two moons old. I also smell something very…fishlike. What is it?"

Redtail laughed. "That is the smell of Riverclan. There will come a time when you can distinguish each clan by scent."

"Well, if we can smell them, shouldn't we attack? They're obviously invading our territory!"

Redtail laughed. "Do not worry; Sunningrocks is the boundary between our two territories. It is not uncommon to scent Riverclan around this area."

"Oh," Tigerpaw mewed, feeling foolish.

"Don't worry," Redtail said. "It's an easy mistake that any apprentice can make. Now I'm going to show you the proper way to stalk a mouse. Watch closely."

And so the training went. Redtail showed Tigerpaw the different ways to stalk the animals of the forest while Tigerpaw tried to mimic his movements.

"That was awesome Redtail," Tigerpaw mewed as Redtail caught a vole and buried it.

"You have watched me stalk and kill several prey. Do you feel ready to try it yourself?"

Tigerpaw slowly nodded and proceeded to practice stalking techniques. By the end of the day, Tigerpaw had managed to improve his tactics and had caught four pieces of fresh kill.

"You're a natural Tigerpaw," Redtail said. "The elders will definitely get to enjoy some fresh kill tonight, but remember that everyone else takes a piece from the pile before the apprentices can pick one."

Tigerpaw picked up a mouse he had caught and began walking back to the camp with it. While walking there, he saw Grasspaw sitting by the entrance with his tail tucked between his paws.

"Grasspaw! How was your first training session?"

Grasspaw sadly looked up. "I didn't catch anything today," he mewed solemnly glancing at Tigerpaw's catch of prey.

Tigerpaw went up to his brother and gave him a lick on the head. "Cheer up, it's only your first day. Some cats take longer to learn. Just talk to Whitestorm about helping you out. Why don't you, me, and Mousepaw share some fresh kill and we can talk about our day and look for ways to help you out."

Grasspaw nodded and Tigerpaw went to drop his fresh kill off in the pile. He waited until everyone else had taken a piece. Then he spotted a nice fat rabbit, but before he got it, a white paw pushed it away.

"Hey!" Tigerpaw mewed, lifting up his head to glare, only to stop when he realized it was Waterpaw. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I was going to take this rabbit back to the den and share it with you, but it appears you are rejecting my invitation."

A ping of excitement rang through Tigerpaw. "No, I'll join you for dinner."

Tigerpaw and Waterpaw spent the entire evening together after eating the rabbit. "I liked seeing you tonight Tigerpaw," Waterpaw said. "Good night."

Tigerpaw slowly trotted back to his area of the den, feeling happy only to find Grasspaw and Mousepaw sitting there glaring at him.

"Where were you?" Mousepaw hissed.

Tigerpaw looked up startled. He wasn't used to his siblings acting this way.

"I'm sorry; I forgot and ate with Waterpaw. Do you guys forgive me?"

"We will eventually," Grasspaw hissed as he and Mousepaw stalked off.

Feeling guilty, Tigerpaw settled down and tried to go to sleep, his heart heavy with burdens.


	5. Chapter 5: Aches, Pains, and Voices

Chapter Five:

"Wake up Tigerpaw," Grasspaw mewed nudging his side. "It's time for our second day of training."

Tigerpaw glanced up, his eyes heavy. "You mean you're not mad at me anymore?"

"Well…I'm not, but watch out for Mousepaw."

As if on cue, Mousepaw stalked into the den. She gave a warning hiss to Tigerpaw before heading over to Grasspaw to discuss the day's schedule. Tigerpaw, still overcome with fatigue, rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. He was out for maybe five minutes when he woke up to an awful smell.

"What the…" He glanced around looking for the smell until he saw a rotting mouse. "Crowfood?"

At this, he heard a cackling behind him. "We figured we had to do something to wake you up, Sleeping Beauty," mewed Maplepaw as he picked up the crowfood and threw it outside.

"And neither of us wanted to kiss you to wake you up," Lightpaw said gagging.

Laughing, they both sauntered out, making sure to stomp on Tigerpaw's tail. Tigerpaw yowled in pain and was ready to pounce on them when Redtail poked his head into the den.

"Do you need to see Acornstripe Tigerpaw?"

Tigerpaw shook his head.

"Ok, then grab a piece of fresh kill and meet me out by the center of camp. We're going to practice some fighting techniques and I'll show you the different scents for the remaining Clans. Are we clear?" Tigerpaw nodded.

After Redtail left, Tigerpaw got up and headed to the fresh kill pile. As he was heading over, he caught sight of Waterpaw practicing a stalking approach with her mentor. She spotted Tigerpaw and gave him a friendly wave with her tail. Tigerpaw, remembering dinner with her last night, began to get a prickling sensation in his paws while a feeling of warmth spread over his body. He waved back and drew his attention to a juicy vole in the pile. He picked it up and carried it over to where Redtail was sitting. Redtail waited until he was finished before addressing today's lesson.

"Now Tigerpaw, there is a simple mnemonic device to remember when you attack: SAB- Surprise, Attack, and Bite. You start off by surprising your opponent. This can be done by leaping from behind, going under the legs, or even pulling the tail,"

"Next you attack by clawing one of several areas. The face, the shoulder blades, and the neck are perfect examples,"

"The final step is the bite. This is not a killing bite. The type of bite you will deliver is just one that is painful enough so that the enemy knows never to hurt Thunderclan again. Got it?"

Tigerpaw nodded.

"Good, now let's practice. I want you to attack me."

Tigerpaw glanced up and down at his mentor. Redtail was small, but there was still muscle definition in his limbs. He decided the best way to start would be by going under his legs. Slowly, not taking his eyes off of Redtail's face, Tigerpaw dived to the ground and slid under Redtail's legs.

The tom fell over with a look of humor in his eyes, but before he could get up, Tigerpaw leapt onto the back of his mentor and clawed his head. Weakened, Redtail fell down while Tigerpaw knelt his head and gave a bite to his mentor's neck. He then leapt down to see his mentor's reaction.

"That was gasp a very nice job. Not many gasp apprentices are able to defeat their own gasp mentor their first try."

Tigerpaw looked at Redtail, worried. "Are you all right? I didn't mean to hurt you badly."

"No Tigerpaw," Redtail said, slowly getting up. "You did a beautiful job. But I think you know enough about attacking your opponent. Tomorrow, we will go over defense methods and I will teach you the scents if the other three clans. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to Acornstripe and rest." With that, Redtail turned and slowly walked back to camp.

Tigerpaw sat there for a moment feeling guilty. He didn't mean to hurt Redtail. He was concentrating on how to fight. Tigerpaw made a mental note to himself to be easier on his mentor. After all, Tigerpaw was his first apprentice. Feeling a tiny bit better, Tigerpaw decided to go hunt for a little while. The Clan could always use some more food.

He raised his head and sniffed the air, searching for prey. There was nothing, but as he started to walk on, a tiny squirrel leapt out of a tree and began to run toward the Great Sycamore. Tigerpaw darted after it with a gleam in his eye. He followed it through a bush of brambles, but his limbs got caught in the bush. He was about to yell for help when he heard the voices of two cats.

"And after we eat this meal of scrawny squirrel, we shall prepare to take over your camp."

"Ah yes, I shall finally give Bluestar what she deserves."

Tigerpaw couldn't believe his ears. He sniffed trying to scent what camp they were from. One he couldn't recognize, but the other… was from his own clan!

**A/N: In no way whatsoever is Redtail a weakling. I just had Tigerpaw beat him to show that even at a young age, Tigerpaw was strong. Chapter 6 should be out sometime this week or next. **


End file.
